You'll Never Hurt Again
by TheFantasticPhantomWriter
Summary: A very lonely Smoker is met by an unusually friendly and interesting Hunter that calls himself Drew. How does their relationship progress? Rated M for mature content in second or third chapter. MxM.
1. Chapter 1

**You'll Never Hurt Again**

Standing alone in the middle of the old musty warehouse was a creature that nobody could ever expect to get depressed. Nobody thought they felt anything at all, actually. But alas, this was most definitely not true. The Smoker staring at the ceiling was not happy. He wasn't even content with this life he was living. Well, being forced to live. It wasn't that he hated being a _zombie_; in fact, that part didn't bother him at all. He was stronger this way, and when he had changed, so had his personality. Could he had ever eaten human flesh before? No, of course not. He probably would have died himself before doing that. Now it was easy, and he _crav_ed it.

No, being infected wasn't what made this Smoker upset. To put it in his own words, he was _fucking lonely. _And anybody in their right mind would laugh at that, because what zombie gets lonely? They're killing machines without a heart, right? But just as with humans, socializing was still a basic need. The Smoker, his name was Todd, wasn't having that need fulfilled. Sure, sometimes he was surrounded by common infected when he went out hunting, but they never actually communicated with him. Only with each other. They were scared of the special infected, as they had been known to eat their own kind when they didn't get themselves a survivor. And hell, he sure couldn't sit down and chat with other special infected. Other Smokers were too awkward to be social, Hunter's just stole his prey and leaped off cackling, and Boomer's were too sensitive. Tanks and Witches? Well… That's pretty self-explanatory.

So Todd was alone. He scratched the back of his neck with a sigh and walked over to a pile of sand-bags, which he promptly let himself drop onto, nearly coughing a lung up in the process. He wondered briefly whether that would kill him if it happened literally, but soon got bored of that thought. He didn't want to go hunting. He didn't want to do much of anything, really.

A sound echoed around the warehouse suddenly, and Todd's ears automatically tuned in cautiously. _A survivor?_ He wondered to himself, standing up and preparing himself to grab them with his tongue. There was only one, anyways.

The rustling noise got closer, and Todd nervously readied himself. Then, out of nowhere, he was on his back. He yelled out in alarm and fell back onto the sand-bags. He felt his stomach drop somewhere into his feet when he saw that he was pinned down by a _Hunter_. The Hunter wasn't attacking him yet, but it was only a matter of time.

An entire minute passed, and Todd had to admit that it didn't seem likely that he would be going to zombie heaven. In fact, the Hunter was just sitting on his chest, looking down at him with a curious expression under his hood.

"Well?" Todd growled out in the hissy infected language. "Gonna kill me or what?" The Hunter cocked his head to the side like a puppy.

"Why would I kill you?" He asked. "I just saw you in here and decided you might want some company." '_Fuck yes_', Todd thought to himself.

"No, I'm fine." He replied with a shrug, even though he very clearly wasn't.

"No, you're not." The Hunter said, scratching his cheek with a clawed finger. "You're a liar."

"Whatever. Going to get off?" Todd grumbled, and the Hunter bounded off him and landed on top of a crate 10 feet away. This was another reason he wasn't particularily fond of Hunter's. They were bloody show-offs.

"I'm Drew." Said the Hunter. "You have a name, or are you like the rest of them?" Todd frowned at him.

"Todd." He replied. "But I don't really care what you call me. I don't remember my real name." Drew grinned, and Todd stared apprehensively at him. He always got nervous when he saw those sharp, nearly always blood-coated teeth. This Hunter seemed pretty docile, but that could change in a split second. They could be as bitchy as Witches. Todd liked to call them the "Divas" of the infected.

"Nobody knows who they are anymore." Said Drew. "So, what do you do for fun?" Todd gave him a confused look, and Drew sighed dramatically. "Fun?" He asked. "You know, stuff you do to keep yourself sane?" There was an awkward silence. Did Todd do _anything_ to keep himself sane?

"Uh." He said. "I, um…" The Hunter grinned.

"Jerk off?" He suggested in what he thought was a very helpful voice. If infected could properly blush, Todd would have been doing so at that very moment.

"Shit, no!" He yelled. He hesitated. "Is that even possible? Oh God, don't answer that. Jesus, I just met you." He shook his head and coughed. Drew just kept on grinning.

"Who cares if you just met me?" He asked. "Time isn't really that relevant to us, I don't find. Anyways, yeah, it's possible." Todd stared at him skeptically.

"And you know how…?" He asked. The Hunter smirked and leaned back comfortably.

"Wouldn't you like to know." He replied smugly. Todd rolled his eyes and walked to the door to the warehouse, peering out at the setting sun that was dying the sky orange, yellow and pink. A river flowed freely within sight of the door. Todd tensed when he sensed the Hunter beside him once again, but didn't comment. It was silent for a moment.

"I still like that." Drew said quietly, staring out at the sun slowly disappearing over the edge of the Earth. Todd nodded, and they watched in silence until the sky was purple.

"You leaving?" Todd asked, trying not to sound disappointed. Drew lifted his shoulders and let them fall again.

"Kicking me out?" He questioned.

"Up to you." Said Todd, walking back inside. "But I'm going to sleep now."

"Sleep? Now?" Drew looked amazed as he crawled back in after the Smoker. "Weird routine, man. I usually sleep during the day. Guess you're in luck, I didn't today, so I'll sleep too."

"I sleep whenever." Todd said, crawling up a rickety ladder. Drew followed curiously. They emerged on a platform not unlike a hay loft in a barn. Here, however, the floor was covered in clothes and blankets.

"Wow, this is cool." Drew commented, scratching the material with his index finger. Todd just coughed and laid down in the corner where there were several pillow piled up comfortably.

"I collect stuff. I guess that's what keeps me sane." Todd said before turning over and shutting his eyes. The Hunter stayed crouched on the floor, staring curiously at the Smoker. He was so strange.

"You don't sleep standing up?" He asked. "I thought all Smoker's did."

"And I thought all Hunter's were silent." He grumbled back in a muffled voice, face buried in a poofy coat. Drew chuckled.

"G'night Todd."

"Yeah… Night."

* * *

><p>Todd woke up 6 hours later with a yawn punctuated with harsh coughs. God, he hated that feeling. But he was a Smoker, and so he had to deal with it, no matter how much he might dislike it. He glanced around, and his eyes landed on the gently moving heap in the middle of the floor. For a second he was panicked, but then he remembered the Hunter that had showed up the day before. He watched curiously, not having ever seen another special infected (Aside from Smokers) sleep before. Drew was curled up like a cat, head tucked by his knees with his shoulders rising and falling slowly with his breathing. Todd thought it looked very peaceful. Perhaps the only time a Hunter could ever look that way.<p>

With a sigh, Todd heaved himself off the ground and ran a hand through his scraggly hair, peering out a broken glass window at the dark night. He heard a few commons shuffling around, but nothing worrying. Nobody would come inside this warehouse anyways. Not with two special infected inside.

"Wake up, stupid." Todd mumbled at last, crouching down beside the Hunter. He didn't move, clearly still fast asleep. "I said wake up." He repeated louder. Still, Drew remained asleep. Todd rolled his eyes. This guy clearly didn't have great senses. Being rather crabby and mischievous as he often was when he woke up, Todd stuck a foot underneath Drew and flipped him over. Immediately the Hunter pitched a fit, waking up and screeching like he was being tortured. Todd stood with his hands in his pants pockets, waiting for him to calm down.

"What the hell was that?" Drew yelled when he had whipped around 7 times and finally realized he wasn't being attacked. Todd shrugged.

"Dunno. You wouldn't wake up, so…" He walked towards the ladder and dropped down without using the rungs. He might not be able to jump like a Hunter, but he was still fairly strong.

"No need to be so violent about it." Drew grumbled, leaping down from the platform after him. "I was having a good dream."

"'Bout what?" Todd asked, unable to keep the curiosity from his voice. He very rarely dreamt anymore, and when he did, they were always boring little memories. Not even memories from his human life, either.

"Oh, you would have loved to have been having that dream." Drew said, growling to himself appreciatively. "The _hottest _girl ever, man. And she wanted me bad." He grinned and followed Todd as he exited the warehouse to sit by the river in the darkness.

"How is that supposed to work?" Todd asked, confused. "I mean, you're an infected. You can't honestly say any of the girls now are attractive." Drew shrugged.

"Not really. I mean, maybe some of the commons you might find, but even then…" He frowned. "No, I think it was like we were both kind of… I don't know… Not human, not infected. Somewhere in between. I definitely wasn't human, because she commented on my leaping." He looked smug.

"In your _dream_, she did." Todd stated, picking up a stone and tossing it into the river with a cough.

"Guess what _else_ we did?" Asked the Hunter suggestively, elbowing the Smoker in the ribs. Todd just stared at him. "We got reaaaaal close." He flopped down on the grass as he remembered his dream. "It really was a good dream." He added on as an after-thought.

"Infected have wet dreams?" Todd asked unemotionally. Drew just shrugged.

"Dunno. We can definitely get hard."

"That was possibly too much information. Like I said yesterday, we just met. I think it's a bit early to talk about that, eh?" Todd coughed again.

"And like _I_ said last night, time is not nearly as relevant to us as it is to humans. You're just pissy because you can't get it up." Todd would have blushed if he still had the ability.

"And you can?" He demanded.

"What do you want, proof?" Drew looked exasperated. "Jesus, why would I just go and lie about it?"

"I dunno." Todd wrapped his arms around his legs, mildly uncomfortable.

"I'll give ya proof if ya really want it." Drew said, nudging the Smoker with his foot. "Or you could try yourself."

"Uh." Todd replied intelligently. "I don't think-"

"Oh, come on you big baby." Drew reached down and grasped at the edge of his pants. "Wouldn't mind some relief after that dream anyways-" Todd stood up abruptly and stalked off towards the woods.

"I'll let you get right to that. Excuse me." He said, not turning around and just continuing on. He blushed mentally as he heard the 'Okay!' come back at him, followed by the swish of the Hunter's pants. _'Don't turn around, don't turn around._' Todd thought to himself, turning it into a mantra until he was far enough away that he didn't have to worry anymore. He sighed and sat down again, this time at the edge of a group of trees, staring over a hill-filled landscape, a small town visible in the distance, 2 miles away. He didn't like to live too close, because it would be too crowded, so his warehouse was perfect. When he got hungry, he'd go into town and find something to eat. Otherwise, he had the place pretty much to himself. Which, he had to admit, got lonely, but he had never figured there was any other infected in town that might actually be half-sane. Although, he thought grimly, could Drew really be considered sane?

He sat there for 5 minutes, trying to recall how long it might take Drew to finish his little task. He might not remember personal human memories, but he still knew things that didn't relate to who he had been as a person. So, he figured, if Drew was really intent on his job, he'd probably be okay to return in just a few minutes. Mind as well start the walk back early. He stood up, coughing as he did so, and began the journey back.

He was almost within sight when he heard a sudden sound that he wished he could have avoided. It was very obviously Drew, and the sound was most definitely a moan. It sounded a lot like a growl, but that undertone… Yeah, he was definitely moaning. The sound grated Todd's nerves, and he barely managed to keep his feet moving.

"Welcome back." Said a breathy Drew, as Todd walked back into the clearing. Todd averted his eyes, trying desperately to pretend he had no idea what had just occurred.

"Er, hey." He said, looking anywhere but at the Hunter.

"I had a good time." Drew purred, scratching a finger around in the dirt. "But I'm done now. You wanna try?"

"No, you horny little Hunter." Todd scowled at him. "But I _was_ wondering if you might want to go into town, see if there's any meals on wheels."

"Let's do it!" Drew cheered, jumping up and leaping onto a tree branch happily. "I'll be up here, lead the way." Todd just shrugged and began retracing his earlier steps.

"So, why don't you live in town, anyways?" Drew questioned as he jumped around unseen in the trees. Todd sighed.

"Because I don't want to deal with all the other infected. I live close enough for food, and that's it." He replied, shoving his hands into his pockets and letting loose a couple of coughs.

"But don't you get lonely?" Drew asked quietly, and actually hung down from a tree branch to look at him. Todd was amazed. He knew how to be sympathetic? He decided to avoid the question, and merely remained silent as he continued walking forwards. The Hunter leapt to walk beside him, a very weird concept for Todd to understand. Hunter's very rarely walked around on the ground when they could have a better vantage point.

"Even infected get unhappy." Drew said as Todd stared at him. "We still need things, just like humans. Although I don't remember being one, I'll assume we still feel some things that they feel too."

"Maybe." Said Todd, and the pair fell silent.

* * *

><p>They arrived onto main street 20 minutes later, where they were pleased to see only a couple common infected and no special infected whatsoever. Hunting would be much easier without competition.<p>

"Looks pretty dead to me." Drew grinned. "Kinda ironic, eh?" Todd chuckled a little bit, because that statement _was _ironic.

"Yeah, guess so. Let's find some survivors." Drew nodded and leapt on top of a building to look around. A few minutes later, he returned to the ground where Todd was leaning lazily against a tree trunk.

"There's a couple coming this way." Drew said excitedly, pointing down the street. "And they've only got melee weapons."

"Which is great for you," Todd said, "But not as much for me. They can slice off my tongue like it was nothing." Drew grinned even wider.

"Slice off your tongue with a baseball bat? Not likely. Let's get ready for them, they look pretty tired already anyways." Todd sighed and crawled up the side of a building after Hunter, who looked extremely excited, and was already leaping around in anticipation.

"Mm, I'm so huuuuungry." He kept saying, peering over the ledge every few seconds. Todd thought he looked more like a Jockey than a Hunter.

"Stop being impatient, here they come." Todd pointed onto the street where a couple was just appearing around the corner, looking very wary. It was a male and a female, clearly romantically involved, around 30 years old, maybe a bit younger.

"I call the pretty girl." Whispered Drew, wiggling as he stared down at them, just waiting for them to get within range of Todd's tongue. They were each going to get their own prey, having decided that they didn't want any help from each other with hunting.

"You can have her." Todd whispered. "The guy has more meat on him, and it's muscle instead of gross chewy fat." Drew just shrugged. A couple minutes later, and the two were almost directly beneath them.

"Go!" Drew called out happily, leaping down from the building with the distinguishing screech of a Hunter on the prowl. Todd merely let his tongue flit out and wrap around the abdomen of the man below, a much less showy way of getting his meal. He began to reel him in, and something twinged inside of him when he saw the way his prey tried to reach out and touch his hand to his wife's extended finger tips one last time. Ignoring the sudden emotional feeling, Todd dragged him up the side of the building and let his tongue wrap around the mans neck. He began to constrict the appendage, and the man turned blue as his lungs struggled, but failed, to get oxygen.

"She's done!" Cackled Drew, who had clearly enjoyed ripping his dinner to shreds. It had taken him less than a minute to strike, attack at close range, and finish her. Todd had to settle for rolling his eyes as he continued his strangulation technique. He couldn't help that his method was slower, or that he didn't have claws to maim with. All he could put positively for his attack was that the prey would die less painfully than a victim of a Hunter, Tank or Charger. Witches killed so fast that he doubted anybody felt much before they died anyways.

"Finally." Todd muttered to himself when the man finally gave up and died. He dragged him back up the rest of the way, and began munching absentmindedly on the meat of the mans arm. He was 5 minutes into his peaceful eating ritual when he was interrupted by the Hunter dragging his kill up from the street to settle down beside him.

"What are you doing?" Todd asked, wiping away the blood that had gathered at the corners of his mouth. His fairly clean appearance was a stark contrast to Drew, whose clothes were absolutely drenched in blood. He didn't seem to care about the red liquid staining his face either, since that was also coated generously.

"Didn't wanna eat alone." He replied, taking another bite out of the woman's side. He grimaced. "She _does_ have a lot of fatty tissue, yuck. Nothing on her looks or anything, I like a curvy woman."

"Told you." Todd said smugly, taking another careful bite out of his kill. "Mine is delicious."

"Let me have a try." Drew suggested, leaning forwards as though to gnaw off a piece of the mans flesh for himself. Todd dragged the body away from him.

"No." He said bluntly, resuming his eating.

"C'moooon." Drew whined, abandoning the woman's body and crawling forwards. "Please? I'll teach you some cool stuff I know if you let me." Todd paused to contemplate.

"Stuff like what?" He asked, unable to withhold his curiosity.

"Lots of things." Drew said airily, waving a hand. "Now lemme have a bit of that." Todd sighed and pushed the body forwards again, earning himself a cheerful sound from the Hunter, who immediately crawled forwards and took a hunk out of the mans arm.

"Oh, this _is_ good." He commented. After that, they ate quietly together, abandoning the female body altogether for some commons to find. Suddenly, halfway through the body, Drew tensed up and stared over his shoulder. Todd watched him apprehensively.

"Who's there?" Drew called out. A female common jumped up over the edge and observed them nervously. Todd blinked a few times. She was probably the best looking common infected that he had ever seen. She had the usual wear and tear, and her clothes were extremely battered, but her eyes were wide and dark, and her lush dirty blonde hair fell halfway down her back. Drew was clearly having the same reaction as Todd, and it was making the female nervous. She glanced at the female survivors body, and then back at the ledge, as though trying to decide whether the food or running away was a better option.

"Take it." Drew offered, nodding his head at the body. The female, who had been rocking back and forth on her bare heels froze in place, staring at him. He raised an eyebrow at her curiously.

"Why?" She said the word slowly, as though unsure of her own voice.

"We're not going to eat it." Todd shrugged and returned to his meal. Sure, she was pretty for an infected, but she still wasn't anything incredibly interesting.

"Yeah, it's all yours, baby." Drew cooed. She still looked suspicious, but her hunger seemed to win over in the end, and she crawled forwards to snatch up the body.

"Thank… you." She said quietly. Drew just smiled at her cheekily.

"Stay and eat with us." He suggested, waving an arm absentmindedly towards a now irked Todd. "So you don't have to share with all the others down there." He nodded his head towards the ledge. It took her a moment to understand, as though the words didn't quite reach her brain as he said them, but seeing his logic in the end, the female dragged the body over beside them and settled down, though she still peered up nervously every few seconds.

"What's your name?" Drew asked with a flirty little tone in his voice that made Todd want to strangle him. Which, being a Smoker, he was perfectly capable of. He struggled to keep his morbid thoughts to himself, and instead tried to focus his gaze on the hole in his left shoe. Once again, the female paused. She didn't look thoughtful, Todd thought, just stupid. It took her at least 25 seconds to run their words through her brain and get a modicum of understanding.

"None." She said at last, dark eyes flitting around and not missing a move they made. She was clearly searching for the reason Drew had asked. To the commons, communication in their infected language was very limited and generally the snarls and growls only translated to things like, "Food", or "Danger". The special infected were some of the only ones to have actually created a sort of language out of the guttural noises. Still, she must have known a little bit to be able to talk even a little bit. '_Maybe she's just dumb._' Todd thought to himself.

"I'll name you Lori then." Drew said to her before standing up with a contented sigh. "I'm stuffed." He patted his stomach happily. "I think I'd like to continue chatting with the beautiful lady here, however." He grinned at her, and Todd's stomach did a sort of flip flop. He assumed the reason was that he was expected to stay here and be _social_ with the stupid infected woman. The real reason was probably that he had pictured himself being smiled at like that. '_No.' _He thought quickly to himself, shaking his head with a sigh. '_That wouldn't be even a little bit endearing. His teeth are covered in blood._' With a grimace, he realized that the female would probably see that as a bonus, like lip gloss or something. Todd withheld a chuckle as he pictured the Hunter in bright cherry gloss.

"Okay." The girl said at last, looking a slight bit more calm, although she had tensed visibly when Drew had stood up. He sat back down again now, his hip touching her side gently, him pretending he didn't notice. '_Stupid bloody Hunters. Think they're such charmers or some shit. Whatever. Diva's.' _Todd stood up with a meaningful glare at the female, who shrank back.

"Three's a crowd." He muttered before crawling back down the side of the building and beginning the walk home. And as much as he would deny it, even to himself, he found that he was disappointed when that Hunter didn't follow him back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Hi guys! Here I am, sticking up another story instead of updating my old ones. I always focus better when I have multiple stories to choose from when I'm in a writing mood, though. Besides, this isn't really a long chapter story or anything. It'll end up around 10, 000 words. Maybe a teeny bit less, since I botched up the time I had initially planned._

_Poor Todd is a bit confused about everything. His general personality is a pessimistic sarcastic. Drew is the playboy flirty type that loves to make new friends. I think it's pretty obvious in the story, though, so I don't think I need to explain much. _

_Ahh, that's about it. I'd been planning this story in school, and I finally got around to writing it, so it should be done soon-ish. Everything is planned out already. Write me a review and tell me what you think! I really do appreciate it._

_Ciao! _


	2. Chapter 2

Todd wound up back at his warehouse, and he collapsed onto the pile of sandbags like he often did when he just needed to sulk a little bit. '_Stupid Hunter.'_ He thought to himself, scowling as he picked at a spot of dried blood staining his shirt. '_Thought he might actually turn out to be a friend or some shit, but he's just out for some ass._' His chest was aching a little, though he wasn't sure why. He hoped his coughing wasn't getting the better of his zombie health, because as pissed as he was at the moment, he didn't particularily want to die. He had to remove some of Drew's most precious body parts before he could allow himself to kick the bucket. Yeah, he was pretty damn ticked off at the Hunter. If he really believed what he said, about time not being relevant, then they were already buddies of some sort. Whatever happened to bros before hoes?

It didn't help to think that Drew would almost undoubtedly get what he wanted from the female.

"Ugh!" He growled to himself, rolling over and pressing his face into the bags. "I hate untrustworthy asses like him." Still, he couldn't help but… miss… him… He tore a bag open with his sharp nails and a frustrated hiss.

A common stuck their head curiously in the door of the warehouse, and they were a very unlucky infected indeed. With the long dark matted hair, she looked like a much less attractive version of 'Lori'. And as ticked as Todd was, he flipped over, and shot his tongue off at her, wrapping around her torso and dragging her body along the floor towards him. He dropped her in front of him carelessly. She scrambled, as though to try to escape, so he let his tongue wind around her ankle. As much as he was often viewed as the weakest special infected, he was still 'special'. He was many times stronger than this weak little female struggling on the floor.

"He's an idiot." He muttered, and the female paused to stare at him, looking panicked. He swung her back and forth a little. "Can you speak?" He asked in a dull tone, not really expecting a response. She looked confused, but not for reasons he expected.

"Yes." She said simply, but suspiciously. Her voice wasn't as used to speaking as Todd's or Drew's, so it was rather rough, but she clearly understood more than Lori did. Her reactions were faster.

"I don't know if I want to kill you or not." Todd told her honestly. "You caught me in a pretty bad mood." Her eyes widened slightly, and she hesitated before speaking again.

"Why?" She questioned, staring at him.

"Why what?" He asked back, glaring at her. She flinched back, but was apparently brave, as she indeed spoke again.

"Bad mood? Why?" Todd noticed at that moment that her voice had a feminine lilt to it, but was very familiar… He had to think for a moment, but then it hit him. She had the same tone of voice that Drew had. Which reminded him of that _bastard_. He growled, frustrated, and rubbed a palm against his eye. Without warning, he found himself spilling to the female. All about Drew and how he met him.

"And even though it hasn't been long at all, Jesus, I feel too attached to him." He looked at her almost desperately. She seemed to be in thought for a moment before she patted his tongue in a request to be let down. He acquiesced, now feeling too miserable to do anything to her. To his surprise, however, she did not run away screaming like the hounds of Hell, but instead crawled towards him, looking concerned.

"You…" She paused, unsure of her words. "Maybe you…" Her shuffling betrayed her awkwardness.

"I what." Todd replied moodily.

"You _love_ him." She said, looking down and twisting her hands around nervously. She glanced back up through her curtain of dark hair to see his response. He had frozen, his hand halfway towards his face, the itch he had been planning to scratch all but forgotten.

"No… I can't." He said after a tense silence. She continued staring at him with an expression that very clearly read, 'Why not?'. "Because…. Because he's… Well, he's a guy, to start with." He looked at her with desperation back on his face. "I can't." He repeated for emphasis.

"Love always can." She said wisely, patting his arm and standing up. "Goodbye." She said, walking towards the open door. Todd just nodded, still too shocked to move much. Love? How could he _love_ Drew? He was straight, wasn't he? Hell, he might not be anything anymore. He hadn't felt even a twinge of attraction since he had become infected.

'_No._' Said a not-so-helpful voice in the back of his head. '_You're attracted to Drew. Remember those butterflies?'_ Todd groaned and buried his face in his hands. He had just met Drew. He couldn't love him. No, absolutely no way. What would Drew say if he _casually_ mentioned that he was in love with someone he just met? Probably just that 'time isn't relevant to us'. Which, Todd had to admit, was true, but it still felt very strange to consider being in… oh fuck it, being in _love_ with a complete stranger. Jesus, now he was starting to believe it. He should have killed that female instead of having a nice chit chat with her.

A few hours later, he was asleep. He didn't feel there was anything else to do, now that Drew was not there. What had he done prior to that little turd's appearance? Sometimes he went into town. But he was taking no chances of seeing the Hunter in town, especially if he was with that _female_. (He was sure he wouldn't have given her half a look if it wasn't for Drew, but now he couldn't even stand the _thought_ of her stupid silky brown hair that the Hunter probably loved so much. But he wasn't jealous, surely not.) But even more than the sudden boredom that had descended upon him, he was horrified at the concept of facing the possibility of… loving… the little creep. Which he didn't. Of course not.

He wasn't bothered during his slumber. Nobody woke him up, so by the time that he did so naturally, it was light outside, perhaps midday. Still there was no lurking form of the Hunter anywhere, so Todd stood up with a wince of discomfort (He had fallen asleep on the sand bags.) and went to peer outside. The lights did hurt his eyes, but he had learned to disregard it. It was so much more convenient to be able to maneuver in both the light and the dark. Besides, most survivors traveled during the day. They assumed it was safer, though it wasn't nearly as safe as they presumed.

There was a sudden scuffle somewhere outside, and Todd's ears quickly tried to tune onto the sound. However, it had stopped abruptly. Slightly concerned, he retreated back inside and stood tensely beside a large box, waiting for something to enter.

Something _did_. A leaping something that Todd quickly managed to catch with his tongue, and drag back to himself across the bumpy cement floor. The victim squirmed around, and when they spoke, Todd's heart, or whatever he had, leapt.

"Dude, it's me, Drew! Let go, you idiot!" He continued to thrash around until Todd released him, staring at the Hunter in a mix of confusion and I-Am-Going-To-Remove-Precious-Body-Parts. Drew didn't seem to acknowledge it.

"What are you doing here?" Todd asked finally, while Drew dusted himself off in a dramatic fashion, grimacing to himself. He paused and looked up when he heard the question, cocking his head to the side in his own questioning manner.

"What wouldn't I be doing here?" He responded, and Todd tried to calm the butterflies in his stomach as they began fluttering at the sound of Drew's voice. '_Get out of there, you fuckers.'_ He thought to himself desperately. '_I'm not gay, maybe you should visit my goddamn brain.' _The butterflies ignored his request and continued their annoying movements.

"Dunno." Todd replied sullenly, kicking at the dirt on the floor, looking at anything but the Hunter in front of him, who still looked confused. "Thought you were out with that bimbo or whatever." Drew's facial expression changed, looking as though he understood now.

"Ah, right!" He said. "Well, see, she was just- Wait, did you call her a bimbo?" He snorted. "Got something against the lady?"

"Something like that." Todd muttered to himself. "It's just… You ditched me for that… that… whore." He remembered his previous anger, and did not attempt to stop it from returning. Anything was better than that damned feeling of jealousy. "You basically cut me out." He shoved his hands in his pockets angrily.

"What the hell, man?" Drew was starting to look upset now as well. "You didn't have to leave! That was your _own_ choice. Don't blame stuff on me when you went and got all _jealous_ or whatever." He crossed his arms and barked the last few words, putting a drawn out emphasis on the dreaded word.

"Yeah! I'm fucking _jealous_!" Todd yelled at the Hunter. "I'm _pissed_ that you went off with that stupid ass, and might I mention, not at all attractive slut, just to get yourself off!" Drew made a growl in the back of his throat that sounded something like frustration.

"You're a _moron_!" He glared at the Smoker, who narrowed his eyes at the insult. "If you're so jealous over me, then go find yourself a _slut_, as you seem to call all females."

"I had a female in here earlier that I could have done whatever the hell I wanted with!" Todd growled. "But guess what? I'm not fucking jealous of _that_!"

"Then what are you jealous of?" Drew asked exasperatedly, holding his arms wide in a hopeless sort of gesture. "Because I sure as hell have no idea what you're going on about right now."

"I'm jealous of the sluts!" Todd exclaimed, his hands moving angrily as he spoke. "Damn it, I hate that they get you like that! I _hate_ it! It's been like, what, a day?" He glared at Drew as though it was his fault, which he certainly believed it was. "A day and I fucking _love_ you." When the words finally spilled out of his mouth, he froze. _'Shit_', he thought immediately. '_Why did I say that?' _Drew had frozen as well, an almost comically puzzled look on his face.

"No, man." Drew said at last. "No you don't… That's messed up. I… Why the hell?" He still looked confused, but there was another emotion lurking in there somewhere. Todd's mind immediately landed on _disgust_.

"I shouldn't have said that." Todd said quickly. "Just some idiotic female came in here and suggested that, and now I'm thinking weird, and it's not true, and … Aw shit." He groaned to himself, putting his face in his hands.

"I can't… It's… Why would you do that to me?" Drew exclaimed, looking curiously emotional, eyes glassed over as though filled with tears. "Why would you… I'm leaving. Fuck if I can take this." And with that, he leapt away, out the doors and back into the forest. It was Todd's turn to be confused, and he wasted no time in collapsing back onto his sand bags.

"Why did I say that?" He mumbled to himself angrily. "Now he's gone. Not gonna come back, either. Man, I didn't know he was a homophobe. Not that I'm a homo." He added on quickly to comfort himself. "That female just made my mind weird… Yeah, that's it."

Drew did not stop running, well, jumping, for a long time. He leapt and leapt, and whenever he felt a tear get loose, he wiped it away furiously with his arm. The survivors would have a field day if they saw a Hunter crying. He was supposed to be tough, stealthy, and quick. Not teary, emotional, and _girly_. Ah Jesus, they'd probably think he was the 'all elusive female Hunter' if they saw him like this. No, not a good thought for him to be having.

Why did Todd have to say that? They had been getting along fine, albeit a little snippy, and Drew had been expecting a fairly content Smoker when he got back to the warehouse. (He narrowly avoided referring to it as 'home'.) But no, Todd had been spending the time he had been gone contemplating screwing him up the ass, or whatever the hell had suddenly made Drew so appealing. He figured it wasn't his personality; he was a bit of an ass, really. He liked to play pranks, do things without telling anybody, and generally be annoying. Todd had picked up on that, and hadn't been slow in retaliating with sarcastic remarks, and those hilarious embarrassed expressions when Drew hit a particularly tense nerve. He didn't think he was all that attractive, either. Sure, he had a pretty fit body from all the exercise he got, but he didn't really like anything else. Who was attracted to pale skin and big empty eyes? His hair was caught somewhere between red and brown and fell into his hollow eyes, and he liked that, only because it remained soft even after all the neglect it had been put through. Even a change of species.

So in the end, it had to be a simple need that needed to be met. He wanted some release, just as most beings needed. He had simply decided that his fantasy involved the one that was readily available. Drew groaned to himself, pausing on a tree branch to catch his breath and get some shade from the bright afternoon sun.

"He brought it all back." He said bitterly to himself. "All the doubt, all that crap I thought I had worked through…" Another tear threatened to let loose, so he swiped it away before it had the chance. He had pursued females constantly. He talked about them, he over sexualized everything, he tried so hard to dream about them… But he never did. He wanted to so _badly_. Anything to get rid of the guilt and disgust he held for himself.

"I'm not gay." He murmured to himself. "I'm not gay. I'm not. I've worked too hard to be gay. Zombies aren't gay. Todd isn't gay. I, Drew, am not- Ah, shit." He whined to himself, letting out a pathetic sounding whimper. Somewhere deep, deep in the recesses of his mind, he heard a voice say, like Todd in a taunting tone of voice:

"_Yes you are."_

* * *

><p><em><em>**A/N:** _Hi people! It's been a while, but I've updated this story. Writing with a fury, so next update will hopefully be soon! I find this story quite fun to write, although it's kind of different from my usual silly perspectives. My writing style is much different in this story, even compared to my other L4D2 fanfictions. I usually like to write simply, and silly... ly. _

_Anyways, thanks for reading, hit that review button and lemme know what's up! (It even opens a niiiiiice new window for you to type it in.) _

_Ciao!_**  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Back in the warehouse, Todd was not having an easy time dealing with the sudden disappearance of his Hunter friend. He paced uncontrollably, and when a regular infected walked in and interrupted his path, he had grabbed them by their tattered t-shirt and thrown them from the building with force, taking a sick sort of enjoyment out of the sound of a few bones cracking on impact.

"Dumb ass Hunter," Todd muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair as he continued pacing. "Who needs him? Not like he helped me out or anything. He's just a cocky bastard that thinks he's better than everyone else." With a sigh, he forced himself to stop walking, and stand by the doorway to peer outside, where the sun was setting over the river, and the infected were beginning to peek their heads out of their dark hidey holes. Todd grimaced when he remembered that he was doing the same thing.

He felt unsure of what his next move should be. It was clear he had upset Drew, (although he still wasn't entirely sure what had put him over the edge. Maybe the very thought of being liked by another guy was just too disgusting for him to stand.) but he didn't know how to get him to come back. Hell, he had no idea where he even _was_. And if a Hunter didn't want to be found, they wouldn't be.

Todd ran a hand through his hair and decided that standing around in the doorway really wasn't helping anything. He crawled up into his makeshift bedroom and curled up on his pile of coats, feeling strangely alone.

* * *

><p>Drew was, in fact, much closer than Todd could have imagined. He was sitting on a tree branch within viewing distance of the warehouse, and he was watching it anxiously, trying to decide what to do. On one hand, he did like Todd. He was hilarious to have around, and it was extremely hard to make anything resembling "friends" when you were a zombie. He also found it hard to stay away. On the other hand, Todd had professed his gay love and that was just plain frustrating.<p>

Why couldn't it have stayed the way it had been? Drew had thought he had escaped all that ridiculous drama he had put himself through. He had tortured himself. And then that dummy Todd just brought it all back. Of course, he had no idea, but it was still his fault. They were in a small southern town; since when had it been acceptable to tell another guy you were attracted to them?

Drew scratched a few shapes onto the bark of the tree, torn between the warehouse, or as far away from it as physically possible. It took him over two agonizing hours, but in the end, he made his final decision.

* * *

><p>Todd grumbled in his sleep and turned over grumpily. Something had disturbed him and pulled him from his slumber. (Which was fairly easy, anyway, considering that he hadn't been tired when he had lain down.)<p>

"Todd," Hissed the voice. "Wake up, you lazy asshole."

Todd covered his eyes with his arm and frowned. That voice sounded familiar. But in his sleepy haze, it was hard to-

"Drew!" He exclaimed, sitting up wildly and staring at the Hunter who was crouched beside him looking somewhat uncomfortable.

"Yeah, it's me." Drew turned his head and stared at the wall as though intrigued by it. "I'm back. Sorry I went off or whatever."

"You…" Todd stared at him with mixed feelings. He wasn't sure whether he would prefer to slap or hug him right now. He settled on no physical contact whatsoever until he figured out what Drew was thinking. "Welcome back," He finally said sullenly.

Drew peeked at him. He looked nervous. "Thanks," He said quietly. The two sat in silence for a moment, testing the waters.

"So, what's up?" Todd broke the silence, and suddenly, it was as if things had never changed.

* * *

><p>After Drew returned, it was like an unspoken agreement not to mention what had caused him to leave. Both continued on in the way they had before Todd's dramatic outburst. For weeks, they enjoyed themselves by hunting and exploring, as well as challenges such as who could climb or run the fastest. Drew had the higher advantage in those, and Todd was less enthusiastic about them.<p>

But the event that had caused the brief hostility between them still drifted through their minds. In particular, through Todd's. Though Drew was content to convince himself that it had all been a misunderstanding, Todd couldn't think of it as that. The more time he spent with Drew, the more he felt the uncomfortable feeling growing inside of him. He hid it, but it was hard when he couldn't stop staring at the Hunter affectionately out of the corner of his eye.

"Get up, moron," Todd said one morning as he kicked Drew over onto his back in their improvised bedroom. "It's almost the middle of the afternoon. You've slept long enough."

"I hate being awake during the day," Drew groaned, covering his eyes with his hands. "You're cruel."

Todd shrugged and turned to stare out the window, choosing to avoid the sight of Drew's bare abdomen. He had taken to sleeping without a shirt since the heat of summer had begun getting more intense. He had once suggested that Todd do the same, but had not mentioned it again after he saw the expression on the Smoker's face.

"C'mon, I'm bored," Said Todd with a sigh as he heard Drew shuffling around, most likely searching for his hoodie among all the other shirts and coats lying on the floor. Drew snorted.

"You're always bored," He commented, making a victory sound as he found his sweater. "I think you need a woman."

"And there's just a never ending supply of those, huh?" He replied sarcastically. The two had taken on the task of acting as straight as they possibly could, attempting to avoid any awkwardness. Todd had more trouble with it than Drew; He had never focused much on females in the first place. Or, well, anyone really. Drew was much more experienced with making lewd comments on females looks.

"They'll all come runnin' when they see that I'm out and about," Drew said with a grin, pulling his hoodie on over his bare chest. Todd turned around when the coast was clear.

"Yeah, sure," He said sarcastically. "I'd say they're dying to see you, but they're already _dead_."

"Not technically," Drew replied with a frown, leaping from the platform and landing on the bottom floor with a light thud. "I mean, they're zombies or something, but they're not dead until their heart stops beating, right?"

"Like vampires?" Todd suggested. "Maybe you should get yourself one of those."

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious."

Todd shrugged and followed Drew with his hands in his pockets. "Anyway, you know I'm not interested in that kind of thing. I'm pretty solo."

"You hang out with me all the time," Drew reminded him. "So don't pretend you're a loner or whatever."

"Well, you're the exception. I don't even know why I put up with _you,_" Well, he did know, but he wasn't about to bring that up and cause another argument. They'd been doing so well for the past month and a half.

"Thanks a lot," Drew replied. The two fell silent, each dwelling on their own thoughts that were ridiculously similar. Todd was thinking about how he would possibly keep hiding how he felt when he was around the Hunter every goddamn day, and Drew was staring at the expression on Todd's face and worrying about what was on his mind, and if it was the same thing that had driven him away before.

"Hey, Drew-" Todd started, but cut himself off nervously.

"What?" The Hunter asked, looking at him apprehensively.

"Never mind."

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later, they had bagged a survivor in town and were munching on it happily inside an abandoned convenience store.<p>

"Of course, I did most of the work, so I should get the good parts," Drew said as he chewed absentmindedly on an arm. "I want the thigh."

"No way," Todd glared at him. "You had the thigh on the last one, and it's my favourite part."

Drew pouted, but didn't argue further. "So, whaddya wanna do after this?"

"There's an interesting looking apartment building down the road we haven't looked inside yet, we should check it out," Todd suggested.

"Sure," Drew replied. "Might find some more things to bring home." He had become fond of the hobby Todd had started, and every time they went to town, they searched for objects that were of interest. Usually Todd focused on clothing and blankets, but Drew loved to bring home books and board games; anything that would keep him occupied. Todd reluctantly went along with this, because although he thought they were useless things to collect, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the time spent together playing Clue and Monopoly. (Though he nearly always lost.)

After their hearty meal (in which Drew managed to convince Todd to give him the thigh), the two walked down the street in the shadows of the buildings. It was odd for two infected to be walking around in the bright afternoon sun, and although they did so frequently, they still preferred the dark.

"Where is the place?" Drew asked, shielding his eyes as he surveyed the road. "I can't see a thing."

"Right there, dumb ass," Todd told him, pointing at the 3 story building at the corner of the road. Drew huffed, but didn't reply. A few minutes later, the entered the lobby of the apartment building, which was very simple and understated. There was a wall of post boxes, and a beige couch that had been ripped nearly to shreds, but nothing aside from that.

"C'mon, let's go up," Todd said, starting up the stairs. Drew followed, staring cautiously around. This was the kind of place armed survivors loved to hide out. He wasn't much interested in facing any of them at the moment. They emerged into a simple hallway with white walls and an ugly multicolored carpet.

"Where first?" Drew asked. There were 6 doors lining the hallway.

Todd gently pushed open the first door and peered inside. "This one, I guess," He said, walking inside. "Looks empty."

"Fine, fine," Drew replied with a sigh, following apprehensively. The apartment was small; a one bedroom, it seemed. Everything was plain, but there were signs that someone had been living there. There were photographs on the table by the door, some boots in the closet, and a fish tank filled with dead goldfish. Drew wrinkled his nose and followed Todd instead, who had stopped to look around the room.

"It's kinda… nice," He said. He bent down to look at a silver framed picture on the coffee table. "I think it was just a couple or something living here."

"Fascinating," Drew replied, opening doors. "Tell me when you find something fun."

Todd shrugged and stood up straight again "I'm going to check the bedroom," He announced, opening the door and entering. It was a small room, and all the occupants had managed to squeeze inside was a double bed and a dresser. Todd had to turn sideways to walk between them, and _he_ was skinny as a beanpole.

He opened the dresser and viewed the contents. Curiously, he removed a garment to look at closer. He grimaced when he realized he was holding a pair of lacy red ladies underwear. A laugh came from the door, and he turned to see Drew standing there looking amused.

"I turn my back for three seconds and you're searching through underwear," He said, laughing harder at the embarrassed expression on Todd's face.

"Shut up," Todd replied lamely, throwing the item back in the drawer. "I didn't know what it was."

"Sure," Drew said, jumping agilely onto the bed and laying back with a sigh. "If you want to wear them, I won't judge you."

Todd rolled his eyes and sat at the edge of the bed. Drew growled when the action made him sink several inches.

"I gotta say something…" Todd muttered quietly after a few moments. Drew sat up immediately, looking cautious.

"What?" He asked slowly.

"I tried… earlier… to talk to you. But I guess it's not easy." Todd sighed. "Anyway, it's been over a month and we still haven't even mentioned what happened before."

Drew stared at his feet. "Because there's nothing to mention. Don't worry about it. We don't need to talk about it."

"No, I think we do." Todd looked at him with a desperate expression that Drew forced himself not to look at. "I have no idea what you think. I know it's probably something along the lines of disgust. But the thing is… It's been this long and nothing has changed. I feel exactly the same." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's so frustrating. And I feel like I can't even look at you half the time, because if you found out you'd hate me. I get that you'll probably even hate me after this, but I can't take pretending to just care about you as a friend any longer."

"What are you trying to say? Spit it out," Drew said dully, playing with a hole on the bed sheets.

"Look at me," Todd ordered harshly, crawling to sit directly in front of the Hunter. "So I know you understand."

Drew unwillingly turned his head to look at Todd, who was unusually fired up. He was normally a very melancholy and boring individual.

"I love you," Todd said slowly. "I'm sorry, but I do. It's… weird… but I can't help it." He laughed without humor.

"What do you expect me to say to that?" Drew asked, biting his lip and praying the tears wouldn't come. "Are you an idiot? Don't you remember last time? Why can't you just be normal, and be my friend like you should?"

"You came back," Todd said simply. "Even though you were supposedly disgusted."

"You're such an idiot!" Drew covered his eyes with his hands. "Idiot, idiot, idiot!" He repeated.

"I'm sorry," Todd reached an arm forwards hesitantly. He paused, but then decided things couldn't go much worse anyway, and wrapped his arms around Drew's small form.

"What are you doing?" The Hunter asked in a muffled voice. He didn't try to move away, however, which Todd thought was promising. Either that or he was motionless with shock and horror.

"I dunno. Feels right, doesn't it?"

Drew didn't answer for a moment. "Feels weird."

"But right."

"I dunno. Maybe."

Todd stared at him in surprise. "Maybe?"

Drew looked uncomfortable. "It's not… so bad. I guess. You're the weird one, anyway. Don't forget that. I'm just going along with your weirdness."

"Oh," Todd said. "So would you go along with this weirdness?" He leaned forwards and shyly placed his lips on the tip of Drew's nose.

Drew went rigid, but still didn't draw away. "Maybe," He said nervously. "I think you need to try again, though, just to make sure."

Todd grinned. "Right, of course." And when he leaned forwards this time, he placed his lips on top of Drew's.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Hi everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long. I got distracted by other things and wasn't writing, and then when I DID get this chapter finished, I had internet issues that prevented me from uploading. I hope you enjoy this anyway! Last chapter is next, and I think we all know what's going to go down._

_Goodbye my darlings! I love you all!_

_Every time I see a review email in my inbox, I smile. Make me smile, folks.  
><em>


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